The Wedding
by Tsukino Akume
Summary: It all started with a wedding ...


**Disclaimer/:** Obviously MiniAntonio and MiniJayden are not mine. Nor are full-sized Antonio and Jayden, because if they were they would totally have made out every episode for no reason at all.

**Warnings/:** ALL THE FLUFF. Also, discussion of marriage and little boys kissing. (It's all innocent, I promise.)

**Author's Notes/:** I can't sleep, can't use internets, and I want Antonio/Jayden fluff. So the solution to this is clearly to write BabyAntonio/BabyJayden fluff.

I have a lot of theories and headcanon about where Panorama City is, and the local culture. (Namely because I need a reason for the Japanese influence and New Zealand accents, or my brain may implode.) Some of that is hinted at here.

* * *

Weddings, Jayden decided, were boring.

Everything was covered in flowers and white lace, but he'd been warned not to touch any of it. There were people everywhere, but none of them bothered to talk to him. He had to wear a suit, and Ji had warned him not to get it dirty or lose his shoes. Even his hair had been slicked back with something to keep it that way, and it felt weird, like he was wearing a helmet.

"Weddings are ***boring***."

The only good thing about being here was that Ji had allowed him to invite Antonio along to keep him company. Supposedly having Antonio there was going to keep him from getting into trouble. Jayden suspected Ji didn't know Antonio very well.

"Why are we even here?" Antonio demanded.

"Because they're my cousins, and it's very imporant to them that I be here to represent the family," he recited carefully, remembering the scolding Ji had given him when he'd asked why he had to go.

Antonio stared at him.

"Ji said so."

"Oh." Antonio let out a long sigh. "But it's ***boring***," he whined again. "Why do people get married anyway?"

Jayden shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe we can ask someone."

Antonio frowned. He was lots of fun to be around when it was just him and Jayden, but adults made him nervous, and he'd get quiet when they were around. "Everyone's busy."

Jayden frowned, too. He looked around for a long moment, but everyone was talking or dancing. "We could ask the bride and groom," he suggested. "Ji wanted me to tell them c ... con-gra-tul-a-tions," he said carefully. It had taken him a lot of practice to say it right.

Antonio looked confused. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Ji said I had to."

Antonio rolled his eyes. They had a lot of fights about doing things Ji said.

"But I can ask them why people get married after I say it," Jayden pointed out.

Antonio considered this for a long moment, sighed, and nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

He grabbed Antonio's hand so they wouldn't lose each other and made his way through the crowd. It wasn't easy; people either didn't notice them and had to be dodged before they were stepped on, or did notice and stopped what they were doing to bow to him, which meant he had to stop and nod to them the way Ji told him to. Antonio stayed silent behind him, but once in a while he'd huff when someone else stopped them.

The bride and groom were easy to find: Jayden just looked for the big white dress. He found them at the head table, talking to some people, but they stopped when they saw him. "Lord Jayden," the groom said with a slight bow. "How can we help you?"

"Congratulations on your wedding," he told them carefully, and mentally cheered when he didn't stutter. Ji complained sometimes that spending so much time with Antonio was making him talk funny, like Antonio did.

The bride gave him a warm smile. "Thank you. Are you and your friend having fun?"

He hesitated. "Yes," he fibbed, hoping Ji wouldn't mind. "But we have a question for you. If that's all right."

Her smile widened, and she crouched down so they were face to face. "Of course it is. What did you want to ask?"

"Why do people get married?"

There was a long silence as she looked at him, and the people behind her were looking at each other like he'd said something cute. He bit the inside of his cheek; he hated when adults did that. Antonio was starting to fidget behind him.

"People marry their best friend," she said finally. "So that they can stay together forever."

One of the men behind her was frowning, but she didn't seem to notice. She just smiled at him. "Does that help?"

He nodded and smiled politely back at her, because Ji would have wanted him to. "Yes. Thank you."

For a moment he was afraid she was going to hug him, but she just kept smiling and stood back up. He bowed to them all. "Enjoy the party. Excuse us, please."

Neither of them said anything until they were safely back outside the crowd of people. Antonio let out a loud relieved sigh and turned to him with another frown. "Why would you need to get married to stay together forever?" he wondered aloud. "Isn't that why people have best friends in the first place?"

Jayden shrugged. "Maybe it's something adults do so they won't forget?" he guessed.

Antonio looked shocked. "But how can someone just forget about their best friend?"

"I dunno. Ji doesn't forget things, but maybe that's because he's Ji." He didn't really know any adults besides Ji and the caretakers, but they were always cleaning or gardening and didn't talk to him.

"But I'd never forget about you!" Antonio looked sad. "Does that mean you're going to forget about me when you grow up?"

"Of course not!" Jayden protested. He could ***never*** forget about Antonio - he was the first friend he'd ever had. He bit his cheek, thinking. "Maybe ... maybe it's so they can live together and never have to move away from each other?"

Antonio frowned. "Maybe ... I wouldn't want to move away from you either, so I guess we could live together."

Jayden grinned. "And then we could play together every day!"

"Yeah!" Antonio cheered. "Okay, then! When we grow up, I promise I'll marry you so we can stay together forever and ever!"

Jayden hesitated. "But what about when I become Red Ranger? That has to come first!"

Antonio frowned. "Well, okay. You can be Red Ranger first. But after that, we'll get married." He leaned over and quickly pressed his lips to Jayden's.

Jayden flushed. "What was that for?"

Antonio blinked at him. "That's what married people do, right? Kiss and hold hands and stuff?"

"That's true." Jayden considered. It hadn't felt bad; just strange. He bit his cheek again. "Okay," he decided, and kissed Antonio.

Antonio gave him a happy grin when they separated. "It's a promise, then."

"It's a promise," Jayden agreed with a shy smile.

And because it was a promise, Antonio held out a pinkie. Jayden shook it solemnly, and they smiled at each other again.

"Wanna see what's on the other side of the bushes?"

"Sure!"

On the other side of the bushes they found a meadow with a creek running through it. They spent the rest of the afternoon chasing frogs and minnows, splashing each other, and rolling in the grass until they were dizzy. It was getting dark by the time Ji finally found them and dragged them back by their ears, lecturing them for being careless.

They never did find Jayden's shoes.


End file.
